Michael Fishbane's scholarship has spanned the range of Jewish history -- from the Hebrew Bible and classical Midrash through medieval Kabbalah and modern Jewish thought -- and he has also pressed contemporary Jewish theology forward in astonishing ways through his own constructive writings.

The Nathan Cummings Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies, Michael Fishbane retired in 2022 after over thirty years of service on the Divinity School faculty.

Throughout the various branches of Fishbane's academic explorations, there is the continuous thread of hermeneutics, his enduring interest in how human beings are always already interpreting at the intersection of tradition and presence. For Fishbane, hermeneutics animates the core of Jewish religious culture, where boundaries between text and life melt into the most fertile wellsprings.

In honor of Prof. Fishbane's contributions, this conference, generously cosponsored by The Joyce Z. and Jacob Greenberg Center for Jewish Studies and the Aronberg Lectures in Judaica Fund, will gather colleagues and former students to explore and build upon methods and insights at the heart of Fishbane's work.

This video includes:

Jewish Spirituality and Hermeneutics (James T. Robinson, University of Chicago, chair)

Omer Michaelis (Tel Aviv University), “The Emergence and Character of Multi-layered Exegesis in Medieval Judaism"

Ora Wiskind (Michlalah Jerusalem College), “Reach into the Silence: Reflections on a Life with Words”